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Aaron Rodgers is putting his faith in general manager Brian Gutekunst and the rest of the Green Bay Packers’ front office when it comes to their current needs at wide receiver and the NFL’s trade deadline next month.
Rodgers and the Packers’ front office are on much better terms than they were during the 2021 offseason when the franchise quarterback was publicly complaining about the lack of communication between the two sides and mulling over his potential retirement. Unlike before, Rodgers is now kept in the loop about personnel decisions even though he does not have — and does not want — final say over the roster-building decisions.
That also means that Rodgers and Gutekunst have had conversations about what the Packers could do to help themselves at the 2022 NFL trade deadline on November 1.
“My head is there for sure, it’s always there,” Rodgers said about the Packers possibly adding players at the trade deadline to improve their roster during his October 18 appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. “It’s not just Randall [Cobb with an injury]. [Second-round rookie] Christian [Watson] is obviously dealing with a hamstring. Sammy [Watkins], hopefully getting him back either this week or next week, but he’s been out for a while, so we’ve got to get healthy number 1.
We’ve had conversations. I trust that they’ll be in the mix on certain guys that they like. As always, it comes down to [the] need, price, cost of those certain players, but I know Brian is going to do what’s best for our football team. If he feels like adding a guy or two to the mix, then I’m sure he’s going to try and make that happen.”
Rodgers Feels Good About New Relationship With GM
Rodgers has been transparent about the improvements between him and the Packers’ front office since resolving to return to the team at the beginning of training camp in 2021. The Packers have since traded for one of his best friends — Randall Cobb — and signed Rodgers to a three-year contract extension with an average annual value of $50 million that ties him to the team through the 2026 season, both things that were bound to make the four-time NFL MVP good about how the franchise values him.
Gutekunst, however, has gone the extra mile when it comes to keeping up with his quarterback and communicates with him regularly about all manner of things related to the Packers, including getting Rodgers’ take on how the roster is “fitting together.”
“Since a lot of those conversations, the relationship between myself and management has improved,” Rodgers said on McAfee’s show. “It’s not a new revelation that I’m sharing here, but Brian and I have a really good relationship and we communicate often about a number of different things, not just personnel stuff but [the] pulse of the team and direction and mindset and energy and how everybody is kind of fitting together.”
Insider: Packers Are ‘Certain’ to Explore WR Market
The Packers’ need for more veteran receivers was a bit overstated throughout the build-up to the 2022 season. Rodgers and the Packers both felt a veteran corps of Allen Lazard, Sammy Watkins and Randall Cobb could fit nicely with an influx of young receivers — Watson and fourth-rounder Romeo Doubs — and help them accomplish much of what they wanted offensively. And in all fairness, they weren’t exactly proven wrong in the early parts of the season … but injuries have a way of changing things.
The Packers are in a tough spot after Cobb went down with an ankle injury in Week 6’s loss that is expected to sideline him for multiple games. He now joins fellow wide receivers Watkins (on injured reserve) and Watson (being considered for a stint on IR) among the injured playmakers, leaving the Packers with an active-roster receiving group of Lazard, Doubs, Amari Rodgers and seventh-round rookie Samori Toure.
That’s simply not enough for a team with playoff and division-title aspirations, and the Packers would seem to agree based on the latest report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on the team’s recent activity leading up to the trade deadline.
“A few general managers I’ve spoken to are certain Green Bay is looking for potential receiver help on the trade market,” Fowler wrote in his October 18 article. “One player who makes sense is Pittsburgh’s Chase Claypool, who multiple execs believe was available in the preseason, though at a hefty price. … The rumors of [Claypool’s] availability have persisted for a while now, though. He’s a major talent whose production has declined in each of the past two years.”
Other receivers who could be moved before the trade deadline include Jarvis Landry and Michael Thomas (both New Orleans Saints), Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor (both New England Patriots), Denzel Mims (New York Jets) and Darius Slayton (New York Giants). Not all of them make sense for the Packers, but there could be a few names worthy of their attention as they prepare for the second half of 2022.
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Aaron Rodgers Sends Message on Packers Trading for Veteran WR